Japan's agricultural exports climb 21.8% in 2015

TOKYO, Feb. 2 — Japan's exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products increased 21.8 percent from a year earlier to 745.2 billion yen (USD6.15 billion) in 2015, the government said Tuesday.

The figures rose for a third successive year, hitting a record high, with exports helped by a comparatively weak yen and eased import restrictions in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011 over radiation concerns, according to a preliminary report of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Exports to Asian nations were brisk in the recording year, the ministry said, as were those to the United States, with data showing that Hong Kong imported 179.4 billion yen's worth of products, followed by the United States, China's Taiwan and the Chinese mainland.